Santa Barbara Botanic Garden receives USDA grant for conservation outreach in Cuyama Valley

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden will help conservation efforts in the Cuyama Valley thanks to a $818,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The new three-year Equity Agreement will help conservation efforts in the area through soil and water as well as benefit farmwork with new environments.

“This grant is a wonderful opportunity to implement beneficial conservation measures and prevent the spread of invasive weeds on fallowed land in Cuyama,” said Denise Knapp, Ph.D., the Garden’s director of conservation and research. “Together with our partners, we’ll be rallying the community in a bunch of other ways to really spread the word about the power of native plants in a variety of landscapes." 

The high-desert and hyper-rural community in the Valley still relies on groundwater for all water uses and recent decades have drained the groundwater in the area faster than it could be restored.

Compliance with the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is now required to bring the basin back to normal.

This can only be achieved through reduced groundwater use that will leave some land unplanted to reach acceptable levels.

The overall project will also provide a network of small farmers with added access to conservation efforts as well as offering paid internships for six high school juniors.

Educational material for K-8 students and demonstration sites for the benefit of native plants will also be part of the program in partnership with the Cuyama Family Resource Center and Quali Springs Permaculture.

For more information on the SB Botanic Garden, visit its website.